Cooling device for portable chest

ABSTRACT

A cooling device for a portable ice chest adapted to be placed in a conventional portable chest for cooling the contents thereof. The device comprises an enclosed box to contain a suitable refrigerant, such as dry ice. One or more pipes lead out of the box at one side for circulating cooling air therefrom into the chest adjacent the opposite end of the latter. The pipe or pipes may be enclosed in a sheet of plastic to facilitate supporting of the products to be cooled. Means is provided for recirculating the air from the pipe or pipes back into the box for recooling, which is shown in the form of a fan located in a duct through a wall of the box and may be provided, if desired, with a thermostatic control.

ilnited States Patent i191 Miller 1 Dec. 24, 1974 COOLING DEVICE FORPORTABLE CHEST [76] inventor: Leslie E. Miller, 7314 Oak Manor Dr., Apt.703, San Antonio, Tex. 78229 22 Filed: Apr. 10, 1973 21 Appl. No:349,747

[52] U.S. Cl 62/387, 62/388, 62/457 [51] Int. Cl. F25d 3/12 [58] Fieldof Search 62/388, 514, 457, 384, 62/387, 371, 372

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,901,190 3/1933 Rabe 62/388X 2,550,935 5/1951 Pike 62/384 X 3,006,157 10/l96l Haettinger et al..62/514 X 3,163,022 12/1964 Hottenroth 62/388 X Primary ExaminerMeyerPcrlin Assistant Examiner-Ronald C. Capossela Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Burns, Doanc, Swecker & Mathis [57] ABSTRACT A cooling device for aportable ice .chest adapted to be placed in a conventional portablechest for cooling the contents thereof. The device comprises an enclosedbox to contain a suitable refrigerant, such as dry ice. One or morepipes lead out of the box at one side for circulating cooling airtherefrom into the chest adjacent the opposite end of the latter. Thepipe or pipes may be enclosed in a sheet of plastic to facilitatesupporting of the products to be cooled. Means is provided forrecirculating the air from the pipe or pipes back into the box forrecooling, which is shown in the form of a fari located in a ductthrough a wall of the box and may be provided, if desired, with athermostatic control.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures COOLING DEVICE 'FOR PORTABLE CHEST SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in coolingdevice for portable chests of the character used for containing food orbeverages that should be kept cold for a desired period of time.

, Portable chests are in widespread use for containing food or beveragesand usually are of a size to be capable of handling by one person.Various attempts have been made heretofore to provide for the cooling ofthe contents of the chest, usually by enclosing ice, dry ice or othercoolant within the chamber of the chest. The cooling action thereof isby radiation and it is required that the coolant be dispersedsubstantially throughout the area of the chest or its cooling effect islimited to the immediate proximity of the source of cooling action. Suchcooling'means does not involve any uniform cooling. Moreover, thecooling medium reduces appreciably the capacity of the chest.

One object of this invention is to simplify and improve portable chestsand to provide for the uniform cooling of the goods contained therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide for a uniform circulationof cooling air substantially throughout the chamber of the portablechest that will effect positive and effective cooling of the contentsthereof.

ceptable within the portable chest provided by the enclosed chamberthereof; One or more pipes are connected with one side wall of the boxand lead out through the bottom portion of the chamber to the'oppositeend of the chest for circulating air from the refrigerant medium to theopposite end of the chest into which the air is discharged. Suitablerecirculating means is provided in a wall of the chest for the return ofthe air. This means is preferably in the form of a battery operatedblower fan which has thermostatic control. The pipe or pipes may beenclosed in a suitable plastic sheet which forms a bottom surface onwhich the food or beverage may be placed within the cooling chamber ofthe c'hest..

I BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This embodiment of the invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cooling device, separated from thechest;

FIG. 2 is a disassembled perspective view showing the blower and powerand control means therefor;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the operating parts;

and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through a portable chest, havingthe cooling device in place therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is shown in connectionwith a protable ice chest having an enclosed insulated body portion,generally designated at 1 in FIG. 4, with a removable cover 2. Theseparts are effectively insulated and enclose a cooling chamber 3 withinwhich the material to be cooled is enclosed such, for example, as food,beverages and the like. I j

The cooling device is adapted to be placed in the chamber 3 foreffecting uniform cooling of the contents of the chamber. This coolingdevice includes a box 4 having surrounding walls 5 and a bottom 6enclosing a refrigerant chamber 7. A cover 8 is formed so as to enclosethe top of thechamber 7.

Each of the walls 5, 6 and 8 is relatively thick, an example of which is1 /2 inches. Each wall is made of an effective insulating material, suchas polyurethane, that has a thin skin or vapor barrier coating over theexterior thereof, as indicated generally at 9. This prevents the leakageof cooling media through the walls of the boxand thereby to provide aneffective insulation even though the chamber 7 is maintained at a verylow temperature. The material forming the box 4 should be a vacuumformed polyvinyl type of plastic, the cavity within the thin skin 9 tobe filled with an expandable type substance-such as polyurethane foam.

A suitable refrigerant is indicated generally at R, en-

closed within the chamber 7. Any suitable refrigerant for the purposemay be used such, for example, as dry ice or solid carbon dioxide. Thismay be inthe form of pieces of dry ice placed in the chamber 7 orenclosed within a suitable container therein, but should be suitablylocated that air will circulate around and over the refrigerant todissipate the heat from the air. Extending laterally through one ofthe'walls of the box 4 are air pipes l0, of which three are illustrated,but any suitable numbermay be used, one or more, as found desirable. Bylocating three such pipes at intervals along the width of the wall 5,these may be sufficiently small in cross sectional area for freedom ofcirculation of air therethrough to cool the chamber 3 without requiringthe use of pipes of larger sizes.

Pipes are shown also at 11 extending lengthwise in the bottom portion ofthe chamber 3'from the box 4 to points adjacent the opposite .end of thechest. These pipes 11 are connected by suitable coupling elbows 12 withthe pipes 10. Additional coupling elbows are pro-' vided at the oppositeends of the pipes 11 as indicated at 13, which open into the bottomportion of the chamber 3 of the chest for circulating the air into thischamber adjacent the outer end thereof. Plastic pipes may be used forthis purpose if desired, being-light in weight and easily fabricated todesired dimensions.

It is also preferred that the pipe or pipes 11 be enclosed in arelatively thick sheet, indicated generally at 14. This sheet 14 may bemade. of any suitable plastic material and which will fit in the chamber3 between the box 1 and the opposite end of-the chest. In effect, thesheet 14 will form the bottom of the cooling chamber 3, upon which thegoods to be cooled, such as food or beverages, may be placed. The box 4encloses the pipes 1 1, which are embedded therein, but is of athickness that the upturned elbows 13 which form the outlets for thepipes will be openat the top surface of the sheet. The couplings 12which connect the pipes 11 to the pipes 10 also extend through the topsurface of the sheet.

A wall 5 of the box 4 may be provided with means for circulating the airback into the refrigerant chamber 7. This is shown as the same wallthrough which the pipes extend in the direction of the length of thechest.

According to this embodiment of the invention, the recirculating meansincludes an opening extending through the forward wall 5 fromface-to-face thereof. One end of the opening 15 is open to the interiorof the refrigerant chamber 7, while the opposite end of the opening iscovered by the housing of a small fan 16. The housing encloses animpeller 17, operated by a motor 18, as shown in FIG. 1.

The motor 18 is mounted in a receptacle 19 provided on one end of anelongated housing 20 resembling in size and shape a flash-light casing.The receptacle 19 is screw-threaded at 21 to be screwed into a side ofthe fan housing 16.

Batteries 22 are enclosed within the housing 20 and confined therein bya cap 23. These batteries are connected through suitable electriccontacts in the housing 20 with the fan motor 18 under control of aswitch 24. A thermostat 25 may be included in the electric circuit (seeFIG. 3) for operation of the fan 16 under thermostatic control, setaccording to the temperature desired.

The cooling device should be made of a size substantially to fit thearea of the chamber of the portable chest in the relation illustrated inFIG. 4. The box should extend transversely in one end of the chamber 3,preferably throughout the width of the chamber and with the pipes 11 andthe sheet 14, if the latter be employed, extending lengthwise in thebottom portion of the chamber 3 substantially to the opposite end ofthis chamber. The pipe or pipes 11 will circulate cooled air from thebottom of the refrigerant chamber 7 lengthwise in the bottom portion ofthe chamber 3 to the outer end where it is discharged in the chamberthrough the open ends 13 of the pipes. The circulation of this airlengthwise through the chamber and around the food or beverages thereinis accomplished by the operation of the blower 16, thereby effecting notonly a lengthwise movement of the air through the cooling chamber, butalso a return of this air into the refrigerent chamber 7. In thispassage, the air will absorb heat from the food or beverage in thechamber 3 and will again be cooled in the chamber 7. In this way, arecirculation of the air is accomplished lengthwise throughout thecooling chamber.

The box 4 can be made somewhat more effectively insulated than isusually provided for the chest and thus will accommodate a lowertemperature of cooling of the air. At the same time, the refrigerantwill last longer and be more effective in keeping the food or beveragecold that is enclosed in the chest.

The cooling device is simple in construction and thus is inexpensive toprovide and to use, but enhances materially the usefulness of theportable chest for its intended purpose) While the invention has beenillustrated and described in one embodiment, it is recognized thatvariations and changes may be made therein without departing from theinvention as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. A cooling unit for a portable chest comprising a box adapted to sitin the chest on the bottom thereof,

4 said box having surrounding walls of insulating material enclosing achamber adapted to contain a refrigerant, a pipe having an openconnection with said chamber through one of the walls adjacent thebottom thereof and extending outwardly therefrom to be disposed in thechest adjacent the bottom thereof for circulating air from the region ofthe refrigerant into the chest, means forming an opening through saidone wall of the box into the chamber from within the chest, and meansmounted on said one wall for circulating air through said opening by therefrigerant and for recirculating the air therefrom into the chest, saidcirculating means including an electrically operated blower mounted onsaid one wall of the box for causing the recirculation of the airthrough the opening, a housing connected with the blower, and meanswithin the housing for electrically energizing the blower.

2. A cooling unit according to claim 1, including an electricallyoperated blower within the wall opening for effecting recirculation ofthe air, and thermostatic means for controlling the blower.

3. A cooling unit according to claim 1, wherein the housing is elongatedand detachably connected with the blower at one end, and encloses theelectrically energizing means in the opposite end.

4. A cooling unit for a portable chest comprising a box adapted to sitin the chest on the bottom thereof, said box having surrounding walls ofinsulating material enclosing a chamber adapted to contain arefrigerant, means forming an opening through said one wall of the boxinto the chamber from within the chest, and means mounted on said onewall for circulating air through said opening by the refrigerant and forrecirculating the air therefrom into the chest, a plurality of pipesconnected at one end with one of the walls of the box and extendingoutwardly therefrom and having outer open ends to be disposed in thechest, and a thick sheet of plastic material enclosing the plurality ofpipes and having a relatively flat surface adapted to form the bottom ofthe chamber of the chest to receive materials supported thereon, saidsheet of plastic having the open ends of the pipes adjacent the topsurface thereof.

5. The combination with a portable chest having surrounding walls, abottom and a removable cover, of a cooling unit therefor comprising abox sitting upon the bottomof the chest, said box including surroundingwalls of insulating material adapted to contain a refrigerant, at leastone pipe connected at one end with one of the walls adjacent the bottomthereof and extending outwardly therefrom in the bottom portion of thechest, the pipe having an open outer end for circulating air from withinthe box into the chest, means forming an opening through a wall of thebox in the upper portion of the chest for admitting air from within thechest into the box for cooling by the refrigerant, an electricallyoperated blower mounted on a wall of the box for causing therecirculation of the air through said opening, a housing connected withthe blower, and means within the housing for electrically energizing theblower.

6. The combination according to claim 5 including a thick sheet ofplastic material having at least one pipe extending lengthwisetherethrough from a point adjacent the box to the outer end of the chestand having the outer end of said pipe open substantially at the uppersurface of the sheet, and means connecting the inner end of the pipewith the interior of the box for circulation of air therethrough.

7. The combination according to claim 5, wherein the housing iselongated and detachably connected with the blower at one end, andencloses the electrically energizing means in the opposite end.

1. A cooling unit for a portable chest comprising a box adapted to sitin the chest on the bottom thereof, said box having surrounding walls ofinsulating material enclosing a chamber adapted to contain arefrigerant, a pipe having an open connection with said chamber throughone of the walls adjacent the bottom thereof and extending outwardlytherefrom to be disposed in the chest adjacent the bottom thereof forcirculating air from the region of the refrigerant into the chest, meansforming an opening through said one wall of the box into the chamberfrom within the chest, and means mounted on said one wall forcirculating air through said opening by the refrigerant and forrecirculating the air therefrom into the chest, said circulating meansincluding an electrically operated blower mounted on said one wall ofthe box for causing the recirculation of the air through the opening, ahousing connected with the blower, and means within the housing forelectrically energizing the blower.
 2. A cOoling unit according to claim1, including an electrically operated blower within the wall opening foreffecting recirculation of the air, and thermostatic means forcontrolling the blower.
 3. A cooling unit according to claim 1, whereinthe housing is elongated and detachably connected with the blower at oneend, and encloses the electrically energizing means in the opposite end.4. A cooling unit for a portable chest comprising a box adapted to sitin the chest on the bottom thereof, said box having surrounding walls ofinsulating material enclosing a chamber adapted to contain arefrigerant, means forming an opening through said one wall of the boxinto the chamber from within the chest, and means mounted on said onewall for circulating air through said opening by the refrigerant and forrecirculating the air therefrom into the chest, a plurality of pipesconnected at one end with one of the walls of the box and extendingoutwardly therefrom and having outer open ends to be disposed in thechest, and a thick sheet of plastic material enclosing the plurality ofpipes and having a relatively flat surface adapted to form the bottom ofthe chamber of the chest to receive materials supported thereon, saidsheet of plastic having the open ends of the pipes adjacent the topsurface thereof.
 5. The combination with a portable chest havingsurrounding walls, a bottom and a removable cover, of a cooling unittherefor comprising a box sitting upon the bottom of the chest, said boxincluding surrounding walls of insulating material adapted to contain arefrigerant, at least one pipe connected at one end with one of thewalls adjacent the bottom thereof and extending outwardly therefrom inthe bottom portion of the chest, the pipe having an open outer end forcirculating air from within the box into the chest, means forming anopening through a wall of the box in the upper portion of the chest foradmitting air from within the chest into the box for cooling by therefrigerant, an electrically operated blower mounted on a wall of thebox for causing the recirculation of the air through said opening, ahousing connected with the blower, and means within the housing forelectrically energizing the blower.
 6. The combination according toclaim 5 including a thick sheet of plastic material having at least onepipe extending lengthwise therethrough from a point adjacent the box tothe outer end of the chest and having the outer end of said pipe opensubstantially at the upper surface of the sheet, and means connectingthe inner end of the pipe with the interior of the box for circulationof air therethrough.
 7. The combination according to claim 5, whereinthe housing is elongated and detachably connected with the blower at oneend, and encloses the electrically energizing means in the opposite end.